Why are you looking so glum, Mrs Djokovic?
NOVAK Djokovic’s wife Jelena is usually his loudest supporter, showing almost as much competitive zeal in the stands as her husband on court.
But she looked stony-faced at the world number one’s latest match, while onlookers said she kept her hands firmly in her lap. The solemn display comes just days after the tennis star admitted ‘private issues’ were behind his shock early exit from this year’s Wimbledon.
In the past, Mrs Djokovic has been seen pumping her fist and cheering her husband passionately as he inevi- tably storms to victory.
But during the Serb’s firstround match at the US Open in New York on Monday, she seemed to be lost in thought.
Mrs Djokovic, 30, even left her seat in the players’ box before the end of the match, which her husband won despite requiring treatment to his arm in the first set.
An onlooker said: ‘She didn’t look happy. When others in the box were applauding on critical points, she kept her hands on her lap.
‘She was wearing sunglasses and it was a night match. She left before the final set. It was getting late, but it felt like something wasn’t right.’
Last month Djokovic, 29, crashed out of Wimbledon in the third round, and he lost in the first round of the Olympics earlier this month. His summer slump left the tennis world wondering just what had prompted such poor performances.
Then last week he revealed soreness in his left wrist had contributed to his Olympics loss, and admitted he is still contending with the problem. But when asked what had happened at Wimbledon he said it was ‘nothing physical’.
‘I’m in a position like everyone, we all have private issues that you have to encounter and need to overcome to evolve as a human being – that was the period for me,’ he said. ‘It hap-
‘Something wasn’t right’
pened right there. It was resolved and life is going on.’ He said that whatever had happened, it was no longer a problem, adding: ‘Everything is fine.’
During the Wimbledon defeat to American Sam Querrey, the 28th seed, Djokovic’s wife’s support appeared restrained when she sat several rows away from his support box.
It was Djokovic’s first loss at a major since the 2015 French Open final and a spectacular fall from grace, considering he was reigning SW19 champion and had already won the Australian and French opens this year.
Despite Mrs Djokovic’s gloomy display at the US Open, recent photographs posted by the couple on their individual Instagram accounts suggest that their marriage is still going strong.
A fortnight ago he posted a photograph of himself with his arms around his wife as they smiled, with the message: ‘Hahaha, I love her excitement here.’ The picture was taken at an Enrique Iglesias concert in Monaco, where the couple live.
Mrs Djokovic has also posted a picture of herself grinning broadly as she and her husband met the Spanish singer backstage at the same concert.
The couple were childhood sweethearts and married in 2014, four days after he won the second of his three Wimbledon titles. They have a son, Stefan, aged 22 months.